Chương 9: Chapter 9: Threats
"My lord, aren't we leaving yet?"
"Hold on, I sent Gavin to the market to buy something."
"But didn't he just go there this morning?"
"He didn't bring enough money earlier, so he has to go again."
Samwell answered casually, still staring off in the direction Gavin had taken, waiting with anticipation.
Todd sighed and turned away.
Once he was facing away from Samwell, a cold glint flashed in the eyes of the knight's squire.
It was almost dusk when Gavin returned.
"My lord, I searched the entire market but could only find two stalks of ghostgrass. That damn merchant gouged me-twenty silver stags!"
"As long as you found it, that's what matters." Samwell quickly took the ghostgrass from him, unconcerned with the price. "Did you ask where it's grown?"
"Yes ser, I did. The merchant said ghostgrass only grows in the Red Mountains and is pretty rare, hard to come by. He got these from an adventurer, and I managed to find the man. He said he took the grass from a wildling of the Crow tribe he'd killed."
"The Red Mountains... the Crow tribe..." Samwell repeated, suppressing the surge of desire building within him. He mounted his horse and gave the order:"Move out!"
----
The camp was silent, blanketed by night. As Samwell lay asleep, he felt a sudden chill on his face and jolted awake. When he opened his eyes, he sawa shadowy figure standing inside his tent.
"Shhh... Lord Caesar, if you don't want this sword to accidentally cut your throat, don't make a sound."
Samwell took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he recognized the face before him- It was Todd's squire, Carter.
"Carter, what do you think you're doing?"
Carter chuckled. "Lord Caesar, I just have a small matter to discuss with you."
"Speak, then."
"Our marching speed is too slow! At this rate, who knows when we'll reach the Red Mountains. Starting tomorrow, I hop you'll stop wasting time training these useless recruits and push on to the Red Mountains. Once we're there, you don't need to worry about wildlings or beasts; we'll keep you safe."
Samwell's face darkened. "Did Todd Flowers send you?"
Carter didn't answer but tapped Samwell's face with the flat of his blade.
"Lord Caesar, do you agree with my suggestion or not?"
Samwell's tone turned icy. "You know the penalty for a commoner threatening a noble with a sword, don't you?"
"A noble? Heh. All I know is that you're a wastrel abandoned by your family."
"Yet I still bear noble blood and was knighted by Duke Mace himself. Would you dare kill me?"
"Sir, have you forgotten? We're not in a castle right now; we're out here, far from any law. If I kill you and claim a wildling attack, do you think House Tarly would even investigate?"
Samwell fell silent.
After a moment, as if defeated, he spoke in a low voice.
"Fine. There will be no more training. We'll march at full speed from tomorrow."
"That's more like it." Carter withdrew his sword, smirking. "Over these past days, I've come to realize that you're not as foolish as the rumors say. So you should know that we're your only real protection here. As for those recruits, if they tried to resist, they wouldn't survive a single charge. So do as you're told, and things will go smoothly between us."
Samwell kept his head down, his face unreadable in the darkness.
Carter didn't seem to care. He gave a mock bow and said, "Good night, Sir Caesar."
With that, he left the tent.
Samwell sat in silence, unable to sleep for the rest of the night.
----
The next morning, Samwell indeed called off the drills, ordering the group to march south at full speed.
The recruits seemed puzzled but didn't question his orders.
On the third day, they continued in the same manner.
For three days, they moved quickly and had already reached the upper reaches of the Meadwater River.
On the fourth night, most of the camp was asleep.
Carter was on watch, accompanied by three other guards.
"My lord, at this pace, we should reach the Red Mountains soon, right?"
one of them asked.
"Yeah, another two or three weeks." Carter sat on a large rock at the edge of the camp, chewing on a blade of wild grass. "If it weren't for that cowardly fat knight wasting so much time, we'd already be fishing on the Summer Sea."
"Why did that fat knight suddenly stop training the recruits? Does he think a month was enough?" one of the men asked, seemingly oblivious to the true reason for the change in pace.
Carter sneered, keeping the real reason to himself.
He wasn't foolish enough to share that he'd threatened a noble with a sword.
"What does it matter? If we get there..." He stopped mid-sentence.
His face grew serious. "Did you hear that?"
"It sounds like something moving in the trees."
"Yes, I heard it too."
"Let's check it out."
Carter stood and led the way into the trees, heading toward the noise.
After a short distance, Carter stopped and said to one of his men, "Jaime, go back alone. If we're not back in ten minutes, wake Sir Todd."
"Yes, my lord."
With that, Carter continued on with the remaining two men.
After a while, he stopped again, looking around warily.
"Hold up. I think someone's trying to lure us deeper."
"My lord, should we go back and wake Sir Todd?"
"No need. It's probably just some bandits who didn't dare attack with so many of us. Let's go back and keep watch-"
He didn't finish, because just then, something darted through the underbrush nearby.
Carter was quick. He threw his sword at the shape.
Whoosh!
"Got it!" Carter clapped his hands, relaxing. "Looks like it was just a rabbit."
He walked over to retrieve his sword and his "prize."
But after only a few steps, he felt a sudden, strong pull on his right leg!
Swish!
Before his men could react, they turned to see their leader hanging upside down from a tree.
Startled, they drew their swords, just as a dozen figures emerged from the darkness, surveiling them.
Struggling against the rope, Carter yelled,
"You fools! Cut me down!"
Before they could move, a voice came from the shadows:
"Drop your weapons, or you'll die."
"Samwell Caesar!" Carter recognized the voice instantly. "What do you think you're doing?"
Samwell approached, smiling as he stopped in front of Carter. "Oh, just wanted to ask you a question."
"What question?"
"It's the same one I asked four days ago." Samwell grabbed Carter by the hair and pressed his sword to the man's throat. "What's the penalty for a commoner who threatens a noble with a sword?"
Feeling the cold blade at his throat, Carter's bravado vanished. "My lord... I was only joking..."
"A joke? The kingdom's laws aren't a joke."
Seeing the murderous glint in Samwell's eyes, Carter began to panic.
At that moment, a voice called out from a distance:
"Lord Caesar! Please, show mercy!"
"Sir Todd!" Carter shouted in relief, "Save me!"
"Sir Todd Flowers," Samwell greeted the approaching figure warmly, as if greeting an old friend.
But at the same moment, he pulled his sword sharply down-
Slice!
The cold blade slashed across Carter's throat without mercy.
(End of Chapter)
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